Oakland: Eight people protesting police shootings arrested at state building

Oakland Tribune

Posted:
02/14/2014 10:06:49 AM PST

Updated:
02/14/2014 11:24:36 AM PST

OAKLAND -- Eight people among a group protesting fatal police shootings were arrested for trespassing Thursday night by California Highway Patrol officers when they refused to leave the state office building after it closed, authorities said.

The eight men and women were part of a larger group trying to get state Attorney General Kamala Harris to open a criminal investigation into the fatal Oakland police shooting in May 2012 of 18-year-old Adam Blueford. The Alameda County District Attorney's Office has cleared the officer involved of any wrongdoing.

CHP spokesman Officer Sean Wilkenfeld said the people remained in the lobby of the Elihu M. Harris State Building, 1515 Clay St., when it closed at 5 p.m. and were arrested about 6 p.m. after repeated orders to disperse were ignored.

Todd Chretien of the Justice for Alan Blueford Coalition, which organized the protest, said Friday all but one of the protesters had been released. They were given a March 13 court date.

He said among those arrested was Anne Weills, a member of the National Lawyer's Guild who is the wife of Oakland mayoral candidate Dan Siegel.

Chretien said Harris' office has not officially responded to the group's demands.